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Famed NY tennis bowl plans revival as music venue

By VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press

Updated:
07/08/2013 02:06:29 PM EDT

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FILE - In this 1949 file photo, a championship match is played in the horseshoe stadium of the West Side Tennis Club in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. The stadium that was one of the cathedrals of tennis and hosted US Open tennis for six decades; as well music greats; is planning to revive the sound of music at the 16,000-seat stadium and perhaps, one day, bring back big-time professional tennis.

NEW YORK—From Billie Jean King to The Beatles, Jimmy Connors to Jimi Hendrix, Chris Evert to The Rolling Stones.

For decades, the stadium at the West Side Tennis Club was not only one of the cathedrals of tennis—host of the U.S. Open—it was also a stirring music venue, tucked into a leafy neighborhood of stately homes in Queens' Forest Hills neighborhood.

That heyday came to an end in 1978 when the Open moved 3 miles away to the much more expansive grounds at Flushing Meadows. The horseshoe-shaped stadium at Forest Hills quickly became a relic, and its days as a music venue faded as well amid complaints from neighbors about noise, crowds and cars parking on residential streets.

In this Tuesday, July 2, 2013 photo, workmen repair on the stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in the Queens section of New York. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Frank Sinatra. Jimi Hendrix. Bob Dylan. They ve all held court at the more than century-old West Side Tennis Club in Queens Forest Hills neighborhood - for six decades the site of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Plans are now in the works for the grassy lawn to come alive again with the sound of music, starting with a concert featuring the British band Mumford & Sons, to be followed by a lineup of world-class musicians. ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig))

But a new plan is now in the works to revive the sound of music at the 16,000-seat Forest Hills stadium and perhaps, one day, bring back big-time professional tennis.

"We were once the center of the tennis universe," says club president Roland Meier. "And this is our revival."

It begins Aug. 28 with a concert featuring the British band Mumford & Sons, which will serve as a test to convince neighbors that such performances will not create too much of a disturbance. If all goes well, club officials and a promoter are aiming to stage 18 more concerts in the next three or four years.

"The concerts will go on if they're palatable to the neighborhood," says Meier. "We're sensitive to the neighborhood.

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He says the hope is that the music will draw more attention to the century-old Queens club itself—where the membership has dropped from more than 1,000 to 750 in recent years—and help bring back professional tennis events.

After years of neglect, the 90-year-old stadium is definitely showing its age, with areas of crumbling concrete and weeds sprouting in the stands. Meier says testing has proved that the stadium is structurally sound but needs repairs to its concrete that are underway, a better sewer system, sealing to avoid water penetration and new seating.

In this Tuesday, July 2, 2013 photo, a plaque commemorating the construction of the stadium is seen on its side at the West Side Tennis Club in the Queens section of New York. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Frank Sinatra. Jimi Hendrix. Bob Dylan. They ve all held court at the more than century-old West Side Tennis Club in Queens Forest Hills neighborhood - for six decades the site of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Plans are now in the works for the grassy lawn to come alive again with the sound of music, starting with a concert featuring the British band Mumford & Sons, to be followed by a lineup of world-class musicians. ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig))

Still, the old edifice retains the distinctive columns and archways that made it a distinguished home of the national tennis championships from 1915 to 1977.

Spectators look out on the lush, green grass courts and the grand, Tudor-style clubhouse, rich with the history of the great champions who played there: Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Margaret Court, Pancho Gonzales, Billie Jean King and Rod Laver.

It was the place where Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win the open, where a skinny teenager from Florida named Chris Evert burst onto the scene, and where Guillermo Vilas beat Jimmy Connors on clay to win the last men's final there in 1977.

The 1960s and '70s were the high point of the stadium as a music venue.

In this Tuesday, July 2, 2013 photo, kids learn tennis on courts in front of the stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in the Queens section of New York. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Frank Sinatra. Jimi Hendrix. Bob Dylan. They ve all held court at the more than century-old West Side Tennis Club in Queens Forest Hills neighborhood - for six decades the site of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Plans are now in the works for the grassy lawn to come alive again with the sound of music, starting with a concert featuring the British band Mumford & Sons, to be followed by a lineup of world-class musicians. ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig))

The Beatles played two consecutive sold-out shows there in 1964. Barbra Streisand took a break from her role in Broadway's "Funny Girl" to play a concert at the stadium that same year. Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and The Who were among the big names.

The venue secured its place in music lore in 1967 when Jimi Hendrix was the opening act for The Monkees. He got so tired of the boos and screams from impatient fans of the group that he flipped a finger at the crowd and stormed off stage.

Complaints from neighbors were a big part of the reason the music went away. Frank Gulluscio, district manager of Queens' Community Board 6, says he's been working with the club and police to make sure traffic and noise are kept to a minimum during the Mumford & Sons show in August.

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